The Burbs
by LisaMVause
Summary: Piper Chapman is moving house for the first time in her 18 year life after her father, Bill, lands a new job on the other side of town. She soon learns that there's more to the life she's been leading when she falls in love with one of her intriguing neighbours, Alex Vause. Vauseman fic. Lots of fluff :) Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I have been a bit under the radar lately... thank you to everyone who congratulated me and wished me well with my pregnancy, It's so nice to feel accepted and like I fit into a community for a change! (I don't really get that feeling in my "Real" life, so thank you!) I'm 28 weeks now and feeling a lot less sick! I haven't abandoned my other fic I'm just lacking in inspiration with it for the moment. This story is something I've had in my mind for a while, It's just going to be a relatively short fic (10 chapters or so) but I wanted to get it out there. Not particularly filled with drama but I wanted to just experiment with a bit of fluff :) Again, thanks guys, enjoy, and as always, please review :) Lise xx**

Piper Chapman was 18 years old and still lived with her parents, both her brother's had moved out and she was the only child left living in the house. Some would say she wasn't socialised. She had lived in the same town and the same house her entire life. The weird thing was, while she was comfortable with it, she always wondered if there was more to life than routine. She craved excitement in her life.

Polly Harper had been Piper's best friend and immediate next door neighbour since she was 2 years old. They were two completely different people when it came to style and interests and yet somehow, their common upbringing had seen their friendship through the test of time. Only now, Piper's father, Bill, had gotten a job over the other side of town and her parent's had decided that now was the right time to move house. Piper was dreading it. Even though the thought of having a larger room appealed to her, the thought of not knowing anyone and leaving everything she was used to was daunting to her.

"Piper, get your ass up here and help me shift the last of these boxes, Jesus, what do you have in here? Bricks?" Polly was yelling down the stairs as she dragged a box along the landing. Piper ran up and grabbed the other side of the box.

"Sorry Pol, I was just helping Dad put my desk onto the moving truck."

They carried the last of the boxes down to the truck in silence until the house was empty.

"Well, I guess this is it." Bill said, standing beside Piper, Looking at the house and wiping his hands on his worn jeans.

Piper stood still not quite knowing what to do, the finality of it hitting her like a brick. She had her whole life in this house, her birthdays, her first boyfriend, her first kiss, first day at school... She couldn't believe she was actually leaving.

Polly turned and hugged her, sensing she didn't know what to do. "Get in that van and don't look back, Pipes. I'll be over to visit as much as I can. You'll have to tell me what all the hot boys are like while you're fishing in that side of the pond, I might have to move too."

Piper laughed at her friend, gave her a kiss on the cheek and hopped into her father's SUV. "I'll see you soon Poll. Love ya."

As the SUV rode out of the drive, the heavens opened and Piper laughed as Polly ran back inside her own house, squealing loudly.

A few tears ran down Piper's cheeks as they drove away from the home. Bill turned to her. "Piper, it will work out for the best, I know it's hard, but think of the opportunities you'll have on this side of town, it's so much closer to the city and you'll be able to find more friends and get out a bit more."

Piper nodded and her dad patted her leg. "You'll be fine. Hey, Let's stop for a drink on the way to the new house, don't tell your mother though, she would be devastated if she knew she was missing out on the chance to drink in public." They both laughed and Bill pulled into the nearest bar. It was a modern bar and they both looked out of place in their "Moving house" clothes. Piper felt a little out of place in her pale blue jeans and old worn t shirt. Her hair was pulled in a messy bun and she wasn't wearing much makeup. She ordered her drink and sat down by the window. This side of town was so much busier than she was used to, she contemplated that this is what life will be like from now on, busy, hectic and lonely.

Little did she know, she was being watched from afar by a girl whose eye she had caught the moment she had entered the bar. Alex Vause was 24 when she first saw Piper Chapman. Alex was sitting in her usual spot, the far back corner of the bar, nestled into a small booth that wasn't completely obvious to people just passing in and out but it still gave her the opportunity to people watch when she felt like it. In fact, this was her former colleague's bar. Alex had been on a narrow path to failure when she had left school and her mother had died unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm. Galina Reznikov had been a dear friend of Alex's mother and was going through a bad divorce when Diane had died. She had seen how badly it had affected Alex and had saved her from almost joining a renowned drug cartel. She had used the money from the divorce to open the bad "Red Rum" and had taken Alex under her wing. Alex finished a diploma and had become a very successful business advisor. She owned part of the bar but preferred to stay silent and just feed money into it when it needed anything, rather than be an active part of it. Alex owned parts of several other businesses in the city as well, she had done well for herself and had become quite wealthy.

She had noticed Piper as soon as the door had opened. She was drinking a cappuccino and looking through business files on her laptop, she would usually be engrossed in her work at this point but something made her look up when the door opened. She had to look twice, this blonde girl looked in such disarray but pulled it off so well. The way she was dressed and the downtrodden look on her face let Alex know it had been a long day for her. She tried to get back to her work and focus on the documents she needed to prepare but she couldn't stop looking at this girl, something about her was captivating Alex and she liked that she could watch her without being noticed. She made a mental note of what Piper was drinking.

Bill had a small beer because he still had to drive and Piper had enjoyed 2 Margaritas, before they had packed up and left for home, Bill was pleasantly surprised and confused to know their drinks were on the house. It had stopped raining by the time they reached the new house and Piper hoped that it was a sign that things were going to be ok for her and everything would work out how it was supposed to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Next Chapter, as always guys, please review :) Lise xx**

Piper hadn't really visited the new house before now, Carol, her mother had simply advised her that her room would be bigger than the one she had previously had and that she could get it decorated how she wished, within reason, if it wasn't already to her taste. The house was large and detached, a combination of natural coloured brick veneer and rendering. A large, beautifully green lawn at the front with several trees dotted along the front lawn leading up to the double maroon colour arched door. It was in one of the best areas this side of town had to offer and all the houses on the street were of a similar design.

She took in the sight before her, it really was a beautiful home and she knew her father deserved it, he had worked hard to get them to where they were today, with Piper planning to only stay home for another couple of years she knew they could choose whatever type of home she wanted, without her input.

Carol had already put her own touches on the home and had unpacked all of the alcohol and set up the bar area. Piper walked up the stairs.

"Your bedroom is on the left honey, I left the door open for you." Carol shouted up as Piper approached the landing.

Her room was large. Wood flooring throughout, high skirting boards and she had asked for the feature wall to be painted grey. Usually when she was young, Carol would have painted and accessorised everything pink but with the new house, Piper had decided she wanted to be more neutral. Her bedding was white with a grey throw adorning the bottom, Carol had insisted on new furniture so the bed was new, king size, which Piper thought was overkill considering there was only her sleeping in it, not that she was complaining.

Piper walked over to the window, it had a low and deep windowsill and Piper had decided it would make the perfect reading nook. She opened a box and pulled out a bunch of grey cushions and some of her light pink ones from the old house and lined the window with them. She noticed the house directly across from hers was a lot darker in style, the stone veneer a dark grey and the render a dark grey, the lawn was perfectly green and there was a large solitary oak tree in the garden off of which a hammock was hanging. Piper wondered what her neighbours were like, if they were just really old or if she would make some new friends. It had turned out to be just the type of summer day that Piper liked and now the sun was due to start going down, the light was comfortable, the temperature was comfortable with a small breeze. She knew her mom would be calling her for dinner soon so she decided to open the window, sit in the windowsill and call Polly to let her know about the house. "Hey Poll, I just got here, my room is huge."

"Nice, Piper, it's really boring here without you, I mean, even though you have only been gone a matter of hours..."

Polly continued talking but her voice faded into the background as Piper noticed someone in the garden of the dark house opposite her own. A tall dark haired girl was making her way out with a glass of what looked like ice tea in one hand and a book in the other. She was wearing sunglasses, a cap with a military style cap, a loose fitting shirt over a tank top, loosely tucked into a pair of short khaki shorts. Piper's mouth fell open. She couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from the pale white skin on the girl's long legs. The girl lay with one leg dangling out of the hammock, leisurely reading her book and sipping her ice tea, casually licking her lips after each sip. Piper was mesmerised.

"Pipes? you there?"

Piper was snapped back to reality by Polly calling her name. "Uh, yeah, sorry Poll, mom's calling me for dinner, I have to go!" Piper quickly said goodbye to Polly, quietly enough so she couldn't be heard through the open window. This girl had no idea that Piper was watching her, now laying in her hammock, one leg hung lazily off the side as it rocked gently, the shade of the tree covering the raven haired girl from the evening sun.

Piper ate dinner quickly that night, hoping she could return to her room and marvel over the girl before bed. When Piper eventually did return though, the girl had disappeared, the hammock folded neatly away. A stab of disappointment surged through her and she decided to have a bath to avert her mind. She felt silly and embarrassed that she was watching this girl like some sort of stalker from her bedroom window.

As the hot water ran into the bath, no matter how hard she tried not to, her brain kept drifting back to those long pale legs and the girl's silky dark hair gently blowing in the breeze. She wondered if the girl lived there with her parents or husband. One thing was for certain, Piper was enamoured by her and wanted to know more about her.

She had one more look out of the window before bed and could see a light on in one of the upstairs rooms of the house, no one was visible but Piper could make out a bed and a chest of drawers on the far side. She looked out for another 5 minutes before giving up and drawing her curtains, getting ready for bed and texting Polly for the remainder of the night. She drifted off to sleep with the image of the girl in the hammock engrained in her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, I know the chapters aren't terribly long but this isn't a really long fic. I hope you enjoy nevertheless :) As always, Please review :) Lise xx**

The next day Piper awoke quite early and padded into the small ensuite attached to her bedroom, she got ready and then remembered about the girl the day before. She rushed to the window and noticed the gun metal grey range rover that had been parked in the driveway wasn't there anymore. She sighed in disappointment and went for her breakfast.

Bill was sitting at the dining table eating a boiled egg and toast and reading the paper. Everything was still in quite a state of disarray as boxes piled up along the countertops, what was left to be unpacked. Carol placed Piper's egg in front of her and smiled. "Will you be looking for a job today, honey?" she quizzed as Piper poured herself some orange juice.

"Yeah, I was actually thinking of going into town and having a look at the boards. I might buy a paper and scour some ads."

"Good, your father and I think it would be a good way for you to make some more friends on this side of town."

Piper rolled her eyes, she knew her mother just wanted her to find a wealthy man to get married to. Piper dreamed of being successful herself, she didn't want a to be a trophy wife.

After breakfast she put on her Jacket, took a handful of resumes and headed into town in the small burgundy coloured Mazda 2 car her parents had bought her as a gift. They said if she had a means of transport she could visit Polly whenever she liked and could drive to and from work. Of course she rolled her eyes when they had gotten her the top of the line latest model, but she appreciated the gesture anyway.

She had walked all over town and had been completely unsuccessful in her search for a job. Everyone was either too busy to talk to her or had just taken a resume and shoved it in a drawer. She had bought a paper and sat in the window of the bar she had gone to with her father yesterday. She liked the vibe in the place and had decided she might like to make this the place she could come to reflect. She ordered a sandwich for lunch and a cappuccino and was busy looking in the job section of the paper she had bought when she could feel someone watching her. She looked around but the place was packed and she could see no one out of the ordinary, no one was looking at her as far as she could see, apart from the odd glance from people busy immersed in their own conversations.

She didn't realise that Alex was sitting in her usual corner and had felt the need to look up from her work again when the door had opened. To her complete surprise the new blonde girl had entered the bar again. Alex could barely believe her eyes. It had been a busy week for Alex and she had spent most of it in her regular booth, totally submerged in her work, several deadlines fast catching up with her. Twice in one week she had been inadvertently distracted by this beautiful stranger. The girl looked much younger than herself but Alex knew she must have been at least 18 because of the two drinks she had consumed the day previous. Alex didn't know why she was even contemplating whether the girl was of age or not. She was in a relationship. albeit a completely dead end, loveless relationship, but nevertheless, she wasn't a cheat. Emma had been great at first, she kept Alex company and cooked and cleaned, when Alex had bought the house she stayed there a lot and it fit in with Alex's busy schedule to have meals ready for her and her house cleaned on tap, not to mention a decent fuck when she had had a long day, there was just never any spark between them. Alex was content just to go along with everything though, but lately she had started to want more, she had wanted to look forward to going home. Emma was barely around anymore, she had landed a busy job in the city and sometimes didn't even make it home on a night - for days on end sometimes!

Alex had always enjoyed her own company, though and was considering breaking it off with Emma. She didn't really see the point in it all anymore, she enjoyed coming home and relaxing. She had bought herself an expensive hammock and had had a glass bead fire pit installed in the back patio so she could still be outside on the winter nights and stay toasty. Reading was always Alex's favourite pastime and she had recently really enjoyed the weather, being able to sit outside and read in her new hammock.

She watched the girl eat every bite of the sandwich and admired the little creases that formed in between her eyebrows when she concentrated particularly hard on the Paper in front of her she was reading. Alex felt arousal building in her core as she watched the girl take a drink of her coffee. A drop ran down the side of the cup and she subconsciously licked it off. Alex couldn't tear her eyes away. By the time the girl arose from her seat Alex realised she had been watching her for the past twenty minutes and was now behind in her schedule for the day, She quickly packed up and headed out the door, just in time to see the girl get into a red car and drive off.

XXXXX

Piper got home and was quite downtrodden by the lack of jobs she had come across. She had astounding grades across all subjects and she had completed a course in admin over the summer which she had intended to put to use while she decided what she wanted to do at uni. She was just about to give up when she came across a small ad on the last page, looking for someone to be an assistant. The job required the person to have their own car to run errands, to fill in data that the boss was running out of time to do and to do other simple admin tasks. Piper's heart skipped. It was perfect. The hours were just under full time, the salary was attractive and it was just what she was looking for. She was trembling and her thoughts were racing a million miles per hour. This Alex dude must be pretty successful in his business to be able to offer such a package. She calmly walked to her bedroom door and closed it, with trembling hands she took out her cell phone and dialled the number. "Alex Vause."

"Hello?" A woman's voice answered and Piper thought she must have gotten the wrong number.

"Hi, I was looking for, uh, Alex Vause, is he available to talk?" Piper tried to sound as professional as possible.

A chuckle echoed down the phone and the hairs on the back of Piper's neck stood up at the sound. This woman sounded like nothing she had ever heard before and Piper's stomach immediately knotted.

"This is she. Who's speaking?"

"Oh, Um, sorry, I expected Alex to be a guy. I'm calling in regards to the ad that was in the paper for the assistant?" Piper said shakily. She was beginning to regret making the call. How she would ever face this woman was beyond her, just the sound of her voice had Piper in a tizz.

"Oh yeah? Do you have any experience with admin?"

"I'm new to the area, but I did an admin course over the summer in Grey town so I could try to pick up some work when I moved here."

"Great, We should talk over coffee and then if the job sounds like something you can take on, I'd be happy to put you on a trial? I didn't catch your name?"

"Piper, Piper Elizabeth Chapman."

"Great, Piper. If Saturday suits you we can meet for coffee in Red Rum on Saturday at 1pm. It's a little bar in town, if you put it in your phone it should give you directions. Ask for me and they will show you where to sit." Alex was trying to sound professional but there was something about this girl's voice that sounded oddly familiar and something that drew her in and wanted to keep the girl talking, just to hear her a bit longer.

"I know the place, I'll see you on Saturday. Thanks Miss Vause, Bye."

Piper hung up the phone full of beans, she might have finally landed a job, and on her first week in town she thought it was quite an achievement. She squealed a little and ran down stairs. "Mom, Dad, I might have a job! I have an interview on Saturday!"

"That's awesome darling, hopefully not at that god awful diner in the middle of town or something though, right?" She knew her mom was only joking but she still rolled her eyes that her mother thought certain jobs were beneath her.

"No Mom, It's actually as an assistant to some rich business lady in town. I'll find out more on Saturday anyway. I'm going to my room to unpack a bit more."

Piper grabbed a juice from the fridge and headed upstairs, she decided to look out of her window and see if the car was back in the drive over the road, symbolising the girl was home. So far she hadn't seen anyone else go to the house. As she sat on the windowsill she was excited to see that the car was in fact back in the drive and there were several lights on in the house, one in the front room and one in the bedroom. She sat for a while looking in the room downstairs while she sipped on her juice but she couldn't see any movement. Suddenly she could see the girl in the top window, wrapped in a towel and coming out of a door on the far side of the room, her hair was damp and wild and hung down around her pale shoulders. Piper's heart skipped a beat at the sight and she knew she shouldn't be intruding on this girl's privacy but she seemed to be glued to the spot.

The girl disappeared from view and then came back into sight in her underwear, a black lace bra and French boy shorts. She turned around to fold the towel and Piper got the perfect view of her ass. Her breath caught in her throat and she didn't know what to do. "Fuck." She muttered under her breath. Suddenly the raven haired woman turned around and Piper suddenly got her wits about her, she practically flung herself on the floor, her juice spilling all over the wood. "fuck, FUCK!" she jumped up trying to mop up some of the juice. When she looked back to see if she had been caught snooping, the girl had simply drawn her bedroom curtains, blocking the view into the room. Piper cursed a few more times under her breath while gathering some cleaning supplies to mop up the juice.

XXXXXX

Alex had gotten in from a long day at work, it was 6pm and she was really tired. She had spent most of the day at the bar on her laptop, meeting clients and doing her paperwork. She was anxious to get someone set on to help ease the work load during the busy season. She decided that a hot shower was probably the way to help herself relax. In the shower she let herself think back to the blonde girl who kept invading her mind all day. She wondered who she was. She hadn't seen her around town before, surely she would have noticed. She decided next time she saw her she would just make up a reason to talk to her. Talking couldn't hurt, right?

She got out of the shower and padded across to the chest of drawers, when she turned around she noticed movement in the house across the road, new people had been moving in and Alex hadn't had time to introduce herself. She was in no rush anyway as usually the people who moved in on the street were retired and boring. She walked a bit closer to the window, the towel still around her, and pretended to be doing something near the bed, all the while she was checking out the window over the road to see if some horny teenage boy was spying on her. Holy shit! No way... it couldn't be. In the window across the road was the blonde haired girl, trying to act like she wasn't looking in to Alex's window. Alex froze for a second before, in her shocked state deciding to have a bit of fun with the situation. She walked away from the window and quickly slipped her underwear on, out of sight and then reappeared in front of the window, giving the girl a clear view of her ass. If this girl had indeed been checking her out, she knew this move would have her hooked. She turned around quickly and caught the girl staring intently before she realised she had been caught and then she jumped so violently she fell from the windowsill. Alex laughed and drew her curtains. Maybe these new neighbours weren't going to be so boring after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, I just wanted to quickly point out that yes, I did make a mistake with the drinking age but I'm from England so the legal drinking age is 18 and not 21... I was just hoping everyone wouldn't notice :'D Just pretend... As always, please review! Lise :) Xx**

Saturday had come around quicker than Piper had anticipated. She was nervous about the interview. She really needed the job, it was perfect and the money was more than enough for her. Bill had given her some money for a new outfit to wear at the interview and she had chosen a fitted white shirt, some high waisted black pants and a set of heels to go with it. She had pulled her hair into a loose up-do and had put a little bit of makeup on.  
She had skipped breakfast, her nerves getting the better of her as she tried to mentally come up with answers to everything she could be asked. She decided to put her makeup on and then read for an hour to distract herself. She got herself positioned in the window and noticed the dark haired girl's car pulling out from the drive and driving off down the road. She wondered where she was going and what she did all day. Piper never saw anyone visit and Piper wondered if the girl had any family in the area.

XXXXX

Piper was starting to get incredibly anxious as she pulled into the parking space outside of Red Rum. She checked her makeup in her rear view mirror one last time and then took a deep breath.

The bar was quite quiet with a few people chatting casually over coffee and lunch. Piper walked to the bar where a middle aged lady with bright red hair and a friendly smile was busy polishing some glasses.

"Hi, Um, I'm looking for Alex Vause?" Piper stammered nervously.

"Vause is always in the same spot in here, over there in the back corner, dark hair, dark glasses, glued to her laptop and drowning in coffee." The woman replied in a thick Russian accent that Piper wasn't expecting.

Her eyes veered over to the far side of the room where she saw a woman taking papers out of a bag on the floor, her dark hair hung over her face and Piper couldn't see her. She started to approach the table when the girl sat up, her hair revealing her face. Piper stopped dead in her tracks. It was the dark haired girl from across the road. Ice tea, hammock girl. Perfect ass, underwear girl. She didn't know what to do, she just stood with her mouth hanging open, the fight or flight response slowly beginning to trigger. She was just about to turn to leave, losing her nerve altogether when the dark haired girl seemed to suddenly realise someone was staring at her and looked up, locking eyes with Piper. She seemed to contemplate her for a second before her eyes widened slightly. Suddenly, her face broke out in a smirk and one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised expectantly. Piper gulped. Her eyes were a shade of green she had never seen before and her skin looked better the closer you got.

Alex rose from her booth and walked towards Piper confidently. Internally she couldn't believe that it was the girl who she had been staring at, the girl from across the road she had caught spying on her. What a coincidence. She approached Piper who was looking more than a little stunned by the turn of events.

"Alex Vause, Pleased to finally meet you." Alex said holding her hand out for Piper to shake and subtly winking at her. She knew it was unprofessional but she just couldn't help herself.

Piper shook her hand and pretended she hadn't seen the wink. "Piper Chapman, it's good to meet you too."

Alex sat back down at her laptop and Piper sat across from her in the booth, her breathing was still unsteady as she fumbled to take off her jacket, the room suddenly roasting hot.

"So, Piper, new to the area?" Alex queried, knowing full well she was.

"Uh, yeah, we moved here at the start of the week, actually. I'm from the other side of town." Piper stammered.

Alex found the way Piper was clamouring over herself incredibly cute, her cheeks were blushed and she couldn't look Alex completely in the eye. She couldn't stop looking at this girl, absolutely beautiful and totally unaware.

"Great, well it's nice to see a fresh face." Alex said, smirking. Piper blushed bright red and looked down at her hands.

"You said you had done a course in admin so I'm more than happy to take you on if you are happy with my conditions. I started this business when my Mom died, Red over there took me in and made sure I was able to complete my education. When she bought this place, I was fortunate enough to be able to buy into it as well, so this place is partly mine. It's my job to go over the finances and books. That means you will be entering data for all of the notes I take and creating spreadsheets. I will also need you to convert notes from client meetings into reports and make sure the filing is in order. Also, I need a lunch buddy to stop me from going mad, lunch will be here and on the house unless we are out at client meetings and then I will just grab us lunch or bring us something for the day. Does that sound like something you would be interested in?"

Piper was still taking it all in. Alex looked at her expectantly. "Um, yeah that sounds perfect!"

Alex held out her hand for another hand shake and held on for a bit longer than socially acceptable. "Then welcome to the team, Piper. Oh, and if you would prefer to, I can pick you up and drop you home, since we just live over the road from each other."

Piper's eyes widened at the thought Alex had seen her as well. Her face reddened at the thought Alex may have seen her looking at her that night in her underwear.

Alex smirked as she could easily imagine what Piper was thinking.

"So, I'll expect you bright and early on Monday if that suits.." Alex said, still looking directly at Piper. Piper had noticed the colour of her eyes were a bright green. She felt intimidated and embarrassed by Alex's gaze over her. She didn't quite know how to react to it, no one had ever looked at her in the way Alex was. It made her quite uncomfortable to know that her now boss had potentially caught her staring through her bedroom window, not to mention she probably had a husband who worked away or something.

"Yeah, Ok, do you need me to bring anything or prepare anything over the weekend?" Piper asked.

"Um, no, not really. Just bring your laptop? I'm assuming you own one?"

Piper shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Well, actually, I've only got a desktop computer in the corner of my room...I thought it would be ok to work from there."

"Well, in that case, over the weekend, you and I are going laptop and work accessories shopping!" Alex exclaimed, a glint in her eye.

"Meet me at my place tomorrow afternoon around lunch time, I'll take you into town and we can see what will work for you, of course, it's work related so don't worry about the money, I'll cover it."

Piper nodded, feeling excited but extremely anxious about meeting Alex outside of work, especially being able to have a look at some of the inside of the house she had been gazing through the windows of for the past week.

"Yeah, that sounds good, I'll stop by tomorrow." Piper, shifted in her seat.

"Well it was nice meeting you, finally, kid." Alex said, her eyes glinting again.

Piper smiled nervously. "You too. I'll see you tomorrow." Piper rose from her seat, put her jacket on, noticing Alex watching her every move. "Oh and thanks for the job, Alex. I'm really looking forward to it." Piper said, before turning and walking out of the bar, feeling Alex's stare on her back the entire way out.

Piper got into her car and let out a huge breath she didn't realise she had been holding. The air had been so charged between them and she was so confused, she pulled out her phone and dialled Polly.

"Hey Poll. I've scored a job!"

Polly half squealed down the phone. "Awesome, Pipe! Tell me all! Is it working in one of those awesome fashion shops in town? You'd totally kill that and they do discounts for staff members too, so you could totally get a new wardrobe." Polly went on her usual ramble.

"No, It's an assistant for a financial advisor and a bit of a business whizz." Piper replied.

"Oh my god, Piper, is he hot? I bet he is, I bet he's loaded too, you could totally seduce and marry him."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Yeah, hot, I guess. I'm not sure marriage is the way forward with this one though, Poll."

"Hmm. Oh shit, Pipe, Pete's just pulled up to pick me up, we're going to the cinema to see that new movie we were gonna go to see before you left, I figured you wouldn't mind if I just went with him since you aren't very close by now. So, anyway, he's at the door, I'll speak to you soon sweetie, Mwah mwah!"

Polly hung up and Piper groaned. It could be exhausting talking to her sometimes, especially when she went on one of her rants.

XXXXXX

Piper tried her best that night to stay away from her bedroom as much as possible so she wouldn't be tempted to look out of her window. When she eventually got into bed that night, she couldn't stop picturing Alex's smirk, the way her eyes glinted every time she looked at her. Piper felt like Alex was the spider and she was the fly. She was anxious to see what happened when they went shopping tomorrow. She had a feeling she wasn't going to sleep very well.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's Chapter 5, guys. I hope you enjoy! As always, Please review! Lise xx**

Piper woke for the day feeling quite rough. She hadn't slept well due to her nerves at having to go shopping with Alex. It all seemed a bit surreal to her, from eagerly watching Alex through the window to going shopping with her in the space of a day. She didn't quite know what to make of it all.

She had put on some light blue jeans and a faded pink loose fitting shirt. Her hair was curled and pulled back at one side and she had put a subtle layer of makeup on. She didn't really know what to wear so she went casual.

Alex however, was running really late. She had overslept which was a rare occasion, then Emma had called her to tell her she was coming home. She hauled her ass out of bed and got in the shower.

Piper headed over to Alex's house, her small backpack bouncing as she walked. She stopped at Alex's door and knocked. "Alex? I'm here." She shouted cautiously, not wanting to startle her.

Piper waited a little and then knocked again. "Alex, I'm gonna come in and wait."

Piper opened the door and walked in. It immediately hit her. The smell of coconuts and shea butter. She recalled it from the day before, when she was in the meeting with Alex. The smell was so fresh and welcoming that Piper didn't ever want to stop smelling it.  
She saw something move out the corner of her eye, she looked over and saw Alex wrapped in a towel in the doorway, her hair still slightly damp, a smirk on her face.

"Sorry kid, I'm running a bit late. Make yourself at home, there's a fresh jug of ice tea in the fridge or water if you would rather..." Piper's jaw was hanging to the floor as she took in the sight of Alex's long pale legs protruding from the bottom of the towel, her creamy bare shoulders at the top. She could only imagine what was left in between.

Alex stopped talking and when Piper still hadn't replied, she cleared her throat a little and smirked. Piper immediately blushed and looked away. "Uh, yep, yeah, that sounds good."

Alex turned and disappeared back up the stairs smirking. Piper mentally cursed herself. "Fucking hell, Piper, can you not just look somewhere other than where she is. She probably thinks you are a total weirdo by now."

5 minutes later, Alex appeared in the doorway wearing black jeans, a black tank top and a black shirt. "Ok, Kid. Let's go."

When they entered Alex's car, Piper was struck by the same smell as in the house, just much stronger. She surmised it must be Alex's unique smell. She took a deep breath in. It was nice, she decided she really liked how Alex smelled. The car was beautiful inside, cream leather interior and a huge touch screen. She had obviously got the top of the line when she purchased this. Alex saw Piper looking around.

"I have had it for about 6 months now, it was my birthday present to myself, I got custom interior, look, it has my initials embroidered onto the leather and my business logo on the gear dial." Alex said, smiling, looking proud of herself.

Piper's eyebrows raised. "Wow, Alex, it's so nice!"

They pulled up outside of Electrical fair, a high end appliance and electrical store down town.

"Let's go choose you some stuff." Alex said, excitedly.

They strolled around the store browsing all sorts of things. Piper politely declining when Alex told her she could just pick up whatever she wanted for personal use and they could put it down to being used for work.

They left the store with the highest spec surface laptop, Alex had said it would be easy to take notes if she could write them on the tablet, and then convert them into reports and such afterwards all on the same machine. She bought herself one with the same thing in mind. She had chosen a burgundy colour for herself and Piper had chosen the grey colour. They both chose the black surface pens. She had also bought Piper a case for her laptop and all the relevant software she needed to load onto it, then they headed out to lunch.

Piper sat opposite Alex in the Italian restaurant they had chosen. Piper had ordered a small vegetarian Pizza and Alex had ordered a carbonara. Alex had insisted they get to know each other better somewhere that was not Red Rum. They sat and chatted about the work Alex had coming up. She was stowed under and was glad to finally have someone to share the workload with.

As she was eating, Piper was silently studying Alex. She loved how with each bite of food, Alex used the back of her hand holding the fork to cover her mouth as she chewed. She looked at her short but perfectly manicured nails on the ends of her long dextrous fingers. Piper's mind drifted into darker territory thinking about what Alex's fingers could be capable of. When her eyes wandered back to Alex's face she noticed she had one eyebrow raised and an amused smirk on her face. Piper blushed and scrambled to justify her actions.

"I really like your manicure..."

Alex held out her hand for Piper to inspect, not buying a word but still playing along with Piper's excuse for staring.

Piper took the opportunity to feel Alex's skin, reaching out to grab her hand to 'inspect' her manicure. Both girls sharply inhaled as their hands met, skin touching skin for the first time.

Piper let go immediately, not wanting to lose the feeling of Alex's soft skin, but scared about that electric bolt that had shot through her the moment their hands touched. She cleared her throat and looked away. Alex pulled back her hand and picked up her fork, having another mouthful of pasta.

The girls finished the meal in silence, both contemplating what these feelings meant for them.

XXXXXXX

Piper could feel Alex's hand touching her across the table, her skin soft and warm. Her heart skipped a beat. "You're so fucking hot." She didn't know where her bravery had come from but Alex stood and pushed everything from the table in front of them grabbing Piper and lifting her onto the table. Before long, they were a tangled sweating mess of limbs and heavy breaths.  
Piper startled awake, drenched in sweat and her breathing was heavy. She had dreamt the entire thing, her legs were wrapped around a pillow and she had been grinding up against it. She grabbed hold of the clock and squinted to see the time. 3am. Alex had dropped her at home after lunch and Piper had spent most of the afternoon thinking about touching Alex's hand. She couldn't quite believe the feeling she had gotten.

She stepped out of bed and walked to her ensuite to splash some cold water on her face. She glanced out of the window and noticed a light on in Alex's house. She found this quite odd but her heart dropped when she realised there was another car in her driveway, still running.  
She noticed movement in Alex's lounge room and watched intently. The car switched off and the lights went out as someone exited and went to the boot, Piper could make out the person under the street lamp, a woman, long brown hair half up half down and a mid thigh cardigan on. She pulled a large bag out of the boot of the car, clicked the key to lock it and strode into the house. Piper could see Alex walk to the door and kiss the girl on the lips as she welcomed her in. Her heart sank as she tried to piece it all together. Was Alex gay? Was this her sister? It didn't look like a kiss you would give your sister. So many emotions were running through Piper as she watched on. She watched the light in Alex's bedroom turn on and the two women enter, the brown haired woman took off her clothes, leaving herself in her underwear and climbing into Alex's bed, Alex also climbing into bed beside her. Piper couldn't watch anymore, she felt gutted as she got back into her own bed, confused and angry at her own feelings. Alex was more than possibly gay and worse, she had a girlfriend. A tear escaped as she tried to stop the thoughts swirling around in her mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Surprise! As always, please review. Lise xx**

Alex woke up with a start. She had dreamt about Piper. She had been going over the accounts with her and they ended up cuddling over the desk, Alex inhaling the scent of her hair as she held on, feeling completely content. The dream had scared her because Alex didn't usually do content. She was with Emma because she was easy to be with, it suited her to have sex on tap when she was home and her own company and freedom while she was away. She looked over at Emma who, after being completely exhausted from travelling, had told Alex she had missed her, stuck her hand down her pants and promptly fallen asleep leaving Alex frustrated and having to take care of herself in the ensuite in the early hours of the morning. By the time Alex woke up she was in a really bad mood. She had alot of thinking to do about where she would go from here with her relationship with Emma.

She pulled out her phone and text Piper. She was far too tired to do work in the Bar today, Piper was going to have to come to hers and help out in the office.

\- Hey Piper, Something came up last night, I'm going to work from home today, just bring your laptop and the stuff we got and I'll be starting work in two hours. Easy day today, I'm really tired. - Alex -

Piper woke up feeling groggy. Her head was throbbing from how confused she felt and her limbs sore from the dream she had had about Alex.

She read Alex's text and it immediately put her in a bad mood. She couldn't get out of her mind that the reason Alex must be tired is because that girl was in her bed all night keeping her awake doing god knows what.

It's all Piper could think about as she was getting ready. She put on her clothes and makeup on autopilot and went down to breakfast. By this point her dad had already gone out to work and her mother was nowhere to be found.

She grabbed an apple and headed over to Alex's house, her heart pounding as she walked up the driveway. The door opened suddenly and out ran the brown haired girl, much more attractive up close, which made Piper feel even worse. The brunette smiled at Piper.

"Hi, I'm Emma. If you are looking for Alex, she's just getting ready, if you wait for her in her office she will be with you in no time. It's the door to the left of the lounge room. There's coffee on the table in the kitchen if you're thirsty."

Piper smiled at the girl awkwardly. "Thanks, I'll head in." Piper was agitated that the girl had given her no reason to dislike her, she was friendly and accommodating but in Alex's house which was all wrong.

She passed the girl who was now entering her car and walked into the house. It smelled different. The distinct smell of Alex was there but it was mixed with something different. Something floral and completely out of place. Piper didn't like it one bit. She could hear Alex humming a tune and she smiled to herself as she headed into the office. The office was a grand space, extremely modern and beautiful, completely in order. The large glass desk was positioned in front of a bay window with a huge monitor placed on top of it. The floor was pristinely cleaned and polished wood.  
Books lined the floor to ceiling shelves and there was a white leather rocking chair in the corner. Though modern, the space felt homely and comfortable and Piper immediately felt like she could be productive in this space.

Alex whisked in holding a mug of coffee and gasped when she saw Piper.

"Geez, Piper. You gave me a shock. I didn't expect you to be here already." Alex placed her coffee down on the desk and yawned. "Sorry, I'm so tired today, my girlfriend's flight home was delayed and she didn't get home until the early hours of this morning."

Piper rolled her eyes slightly and Alex noticed. She smirked knowing the fact she had a girlfriend was having an effect on Piper.

"So, I have these files to go through, I'll show you what to do with them and then you can do those. Once you are finished we can go for breakfast. I've got some awesome croissants in the fridge." Alex said, walking around the desk to where Piper was sitting. As cruel as it was, she couldn't help playing with Piper a little bit, just to see her reaction. To see how innocent she really was. To test the water. She needed to know for sure if Piper was feeling something for her.

She placed the Papers on the desk and one hand on the back of Piper's chair and leant over, taking her cleavage closer to Piper's face and effectively trapping her against the bookcase.

She heard Piper take a shaky breath in.

Piper couldn't believe this was happening. She didn't quite know how to react.. Was she still in that dream she had last night? Was this all a huge joke? How was she meant to focus on anything on those papers when she could smell Alex's sweet skin so close to her face, see her perfect cleavage up this close. And Alex had confirmed she was gay. Was this her version of flirting? All these possibilities swirled around in Piper's mind. It was only when Alex clicked her fingers and waved at her that she realised her head had been turned towards Alex and she had been staring at her cleavage the entire time.

"Piper, are you ok?"

Piper gulped and nodded. She looked up to Alex who had somehow, while she had been staring at her cleavage, put her glasses on. Piper started panicking about how long she had actually been staring.

"So you're ok to go ahead and get started on those then?" Alex asked, knowing full well Piper hadn't heard anything she had said. She smirked to herself and then walked back around the desk and sat down. She felt so cruel but she also had her confirmation that Piper was indeed feeling something in return for her. She let Piper stew with not knowing what to do for five minutes and then walked around the desk. Piper didn't look up, she knew if she did she would be met with Alex's cleavage again and she already didn't know what she was doing.

"Are you doing ok there, Pipes?"

Piper looked up at the nickname Alex had .  
?used for her and was met with Alex's face inches from hers. She was shocked at the shade of green her eyes were, magnified by her glasses. She looked down to her beautiful full lips and licked her own.

"It's just - and forgive me if I'm wrong, I'll go right back round the other side of the desk and nothing else will be said about it- I thought I saw you staring at my necklace... it's a family heirloom you know..." Alex husked, intentionally drawing Piper's eyes back down to her chest. She brought her hand up to play with the small diamond hanging around her neck, watching as Piper's eyes flitted between her face and her chest, trying not to focus on one or the other for too long.

"Do you like it?"

Piper nodded and cleared her throat. "Um, Yeah, it's beautiful" Piper said as she exhaled, I was just looking at it before and well... well... Alex? What perfume do you wear? You always smell really nice and I can't pinpoint exactly what it is?"

Alex leant even further forward into Piper who was now blushing furiously and not knowing what to do. She took the opportunity to inhale, taking a breath full of Alex's smell, letting herself get temporarily overwhelmed by it. Alex turned her face into Piper's ear and whispered.

"The thing is, Pipes, I'm not wearing any perfume."

Piper gasped. She wasn't expecting any of this and it was completely overwhelming her. She closed her eyes wondering if she really was still in her dream but Alex was flooding her senses. She turned her face up to Alex and felt her press her lips up against her own. The kiss was tender and gentle and Alex rested her forehead against Piper's, her breathing slightly heavier than normal.

Piper suddenly jumped up, remembering where she was, who Alex was, the brunette girl from this morning. Alex stood back not quite knowing what to do.

"Fuck. FUCK!" Piper was out of breath and totally panicked. She had to get out of there as fast as possible. She had just kissed her boss. HER BOSS OF ONE DAY. She couldn't believe she could fuck up this badly on the first day.

"Piper. PIPES, COME BACK!" Alex yelled as Piper bolted out of the door, her hand on her forehead.

"Jesus Fuck!" Alex slammed her hand down on the table. She had totally misread the situation, now she had cheated on Emma and Piper wasn't even interested.

She pulled out her phone and messaged Piper. -Piper, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you away. I don't know what came over me. Can we just forget that happened and have you come back and finish the day at work? I'll go out and you can do your work from here, i'll just leave instructions or something. Please come back. - Alex-

XXXXXXX

Piper burst into her house, her breathing frantic and her heart thrumming a million miles an hour. Now what was she going to do. How was she going to explain any of this to her parents. "Oh, Mom, Dad, I quit work on my first day because I couldn't stop staring at my boss' tits. We kissed and now I can't live with myself."

She flopped face first down on her bed and cried. Jesus. She was such a fuck up. She didn't know what to do.

There was a soft knock on her bedroom door which made Piper jump. She got the shock of her life when she looked up and realised Alex was standing half in her doorway. She must have followed her home.

"Piper, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I misread everything. I'm going to explain and then I'm going to leave. You can just work remotely if you want to keep working for me, after that. I will understand."

Piper nodded and sat up. Alex silently asked to come further into the room and Piper nodded slightly, her breath catching in her throat when Alex approached the bed and sat down next to her.

"Look. The other day at the interview wasn't the first time I'd seen you. I saw you with your Dad in the bar about a week ago. Then I saw you looking through the paper. Both times you caught my eye and I was intrigued by you, y'know. Then I realised that time, that you lived over the road from me. Anyway, It was pure coincidence that you ended up at that interview with me, Pipes. I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry. I should have just made up an excuse to leave when I knew it was you. I didn't mean to overstep the mark, there's just this tension between us I can't put my finger on. I'm attracted to you, Piper. I don't know what else to say about it."

Piper looked up. "I noticed you before the interview too. Al, I don't know what to do. You're my boss. You scare me slightly. How are we supposed to work together knowing we are attracted to each other. You have a girlfriend. I need some time to think, Alex."

Alex nodded. "I get it, I'm sorry."

She stood up and left the room, walking back to her own house and moping around for the rest of the day. She didn't know what else she could do. She had laid her feelings out there but it hadn't been enough. She wished Emma was on one of her long trips so she didn't have to deal with her.

She opened a bottle of wine and laid out on the hammock drinking it until the sun went down.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I feel like I'm on a roll with this one. I'm gonna finish this up in the next few chapters. As I said in the beginning, it was just a short fluffy fic, nothing too dramatic. Please Review :) Lise xx**

The next day, Piper didn't bother getting up for work. She messaged Alex.

\- Won't be in today, have a headache. -Piper-

Alex didn't bother to reply to the message.

While she could have really done with the help at work today, she didn't want to cause more issues so decided not to act the boss for today, instead she bought a basket of fruit, a box of chocolates and some flowers and headed over to Piper's house.

She knew if Piper was at home she would be alone so she knocked twice and walked in.

"Piper?... Pipes?... I brought you some stuff... I hope you don't mind..." Alex called. There was no response so she headed up to Piper's room.

"Pipes?" As she entered Piper's room she noticed her asleep on the bed, a book next to her hands. She must have fallen asleep. Alex didn't know what to do, she didn't know whether to wake her up or just leave. She stared at Piper for a while, her blonde hair splayed out on the pillow, her eyes moving slightly as she dreamed. She reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair behind Piper's ear, unable to stop herself from touching the other woman. Piper stirred a little and didn't open her eyes. "Mmm, Alex, fuck, don't stop." Piper murmured. Alex stopped dead. Was Piper having a sex dream about her? She didn't know what to do so she decided to leave and then Piper would never know she was here, she could just leave the stuff downstairs by the door and message Piper she had left it all there. Yep that's what she was going to do. Just as she stood up from the bed Piper's eyes fluttered open and for a minute a look of confusion, then horror swept across her face. "Alex?"

Alex looked at the floor. She cleared her throat which she suddenly realised was completely dry. "Um, I just came over to give you this and to say I hope your headache goes soon. I didn't realise you'd be, uh, asleep, so I'll just leave these here and then I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Piper's face was suddenly incredibly flushed as she remembered the dream she had been having before she woke up. Shit. Did Alex know? This whole situation just got better and better.

"Al, Um, I guess if you wanted to you could stay for a coffee or lunch or something?" Piper said, shakily.

Alex stood up from the bed. "I think it's best if I just left, I don't want to intrude."

Piper grabbed Alex's hand and then looked down, shocked even by her own actions. "I don't want you to go."

Alex looked down at their linked hands and sat on the bed again, facing Piper.

"Piper, I don't want this to be awkward for you..." Suddenly Piper's lips were on hers, effectively shutting her up and stunning her for a second before she responded and returned the kiss. She stroked her tongue along Piper's lips and slipped it in between them, groaning at the sensation of the inside of Piper's mouth. Her breathing picked up and before long she could feel her resolve crumbling, she couldn't take this much longer. She pushed Piper back onto the bed and sat up for a moment, closing her eyes and breathing heavily, her lips red and swollen from the kiss. Piper was looking at her cautiously, she didn't know what had come over her but the dream combined with the kiss Alex had just given her had turned her on more than she thought possible. Her heart was thumping in her chest, her breathing heavy as she eyed Alex, not quite sure what the next move was.

Alex suddenly opened her eyes and Piper was shocked at how dark they looked. Full of lust. She knew she was in trouble.

"Piper. I need to know what you want right now. Do you want me to stay or do you need me to leave." Alex's voice was rough and unusually steady,

Piper blinked a couple of times, feeling a little intimidated by how Alex looked right now but also heeding the warning coming from the woman. She knew if she told Alex to stay they were inevitably going to end up having sex. She had a choice to make. To throw herself into this and sleep with the most attractive woman she had ever laid eyes on, or tell her to leave and have an eternity of awkward sexual tension at work.

"I, um, I want you to stay, Alex." Piper said, quietly, not quite knowing what Alex would do with the confirmation. She didn't have to wait long though, because before she knew it, Alex's weight was being pushed down on top of her, her neck being assaulted by the older woman's mouth. She gasped. It felt so good. She was still in denial that this was even happening. All those days she spent looking out of her window, hoping to just get a glimpse of Alex and now she was lying underneath her.

Alex ran her hands under her top and was met with creamy soft warm skin and then soft lace bra. Piper inhaled sharply as she felt Alex's hand tugging at her bra and then her soft warm hand meeting her breast and rubbing softly. They were both completely lost in each other. Piper had moved her hands under Alex's top with hesitation, she was currently caressing the skin around her middle, the soft fleshy part between hip bone and rib. Even though she was 18 she had only had sex once before, with a boy, Larry. It was quick and he was the only one who had gotten the pleasure of an orgasm. Her mother had been desperate for her to marry him. Piper wasn't interested.

This felt completely different. Alex was soft and had curves in all the right places. Piper's heart was going a million miles an hour and an army of butterflies had taken over her stomach. The more Alex rubbed her nipple the more intense the pleasure was getting. Piper didn't really know how to react to this. Alex sensed she needed her to move on but didn't have the confidence to say anything. She stopped and looked up at Piper who by now, was looking very flushed and flustered.

"Piper, you do want this, don't you?"

Piper nodded her head. "I mean, yeah. It's just that I've never really... y'know.."

Alex hesitated and then smirked. "Had sex with a woman before? Yeah, I wasn't expecting you to have slept with any, Pipes."

Piper gave a half smile. "I mean I've never really..." The smile faded from Alex's face.

"Jesus Christ, tell me this isn't your first time..."

"No, Al. I've slept with one guy, once. A while back. But I never actually.." Piper looked away and blushed.

Alex's smirk returned. "So, you didn't come?" Piper shook her head.

Alex crawled down Piper's body and yanked down her joggers, leaving her naked from the waist down. The shade of red on Piper's face deepened as she watched her. "I guess I'm just gonna have to show you what it's supposed to be like, then."

With that, Alex dove straight in between Piper's legs making her gasp. Piper's back arched off the bed as Alex began licking her clit soft but fast, in circles. She thought she was going to black out as the pleasure built in her core. It took about five minutes for Piper to feel like she couldn't take anymore and the world burst into stars as she lost control of her body, twitching and grinding against Alex's face as she rode out her orgasm.

Alex slowed down and eventually looked up from her spot as she wiped her mouth. Piper looked so sexy. Her hair was totally messed and her face was flushed from the exertion. Her eyes were glassy and eyelids hooded.

"Holy shit. That was amazing." Piper gasped as she tried to compose herself, afraid to look like a total fool in front of Alex.

"I know, right..." Alex chuckled as she laid herself beside Piper, one arm holding her head up as she traced patterns on Piper's abdomen.

Piper pulled Alex closer, into a kiss. She slowly moved her hand down Alex's body and into her pants. Alex's eyes popped open as she felt Piper's hand. "You don't have to do that if you don't want to.."

Piper just smiled and began rubbing Alex's clit gently, she had nothing to go off but what she liked to do to her own body. Alex inhaled, closed her eyes and moaned quietly. The sound made Piper's core clench again in anticipation of what was to come, her heart pounding frantically at everything she was experiencing.  
It didn't take long before Alex's hips were grinding against Piper's fingers, a steady rhythm that was growing faster and faster. "Mmm. Piper, more." Alex groaned as she kept her hips grinding against Piper's now aching, soaked hand. Piper moved her hand further down and inserted two of her fingers into Alex, her palm still rubbing her clit. Alex fell apart almost instantly, her breathing jagged as she arched off the bed, her head turned to one side, eyes tightly closed. Piper began kissing her chest gently trying to get closer to the woman beside her. As she came down from her orgasm she looked at Piper with worried eyes and Piper immediately felt uneasy. "Jesus, Piper. Are you sure that was your first time with a woman?"

Piper's face fell neutral again and she smiled slightly. "Yep... Well. except for myself."

Alex chuckled at her. "Yeah well, I'm in trouble with you, kid. That was something."

"So, what does this mean, Al. I mean, I'm your employee, technically. And you have a girlfriend."

Alex's face turned serious. "I know the whole employee situation isn't ideal but I guess we could make it work, Pipes. As for Emma. I haven't felt happy with her in a long time. She's convenient, barely ever home and I've never really committed to the relationship anyway. I mean, I probably should have broken up with her months back.. Piper, I think we have something here. I don't want to rush it but I also don't want to lose you."

Piper thought for a second. "I agree, I don't want to lose you, Al, I think we have something worth holding onto, I've never felt like this about anyone."

Piper heard the front door open and close and her father's keys drop on the top. Alex's eyes widened.

"Shit, my dad's home from work."

Alex was already up off the bed and smoothing her clothes down. Piper was pulling on her joggers and pulling her hair back into a bun.

"Piper? Are you home from work... there's some stuff down here.. flowers and chocolates and fruit"

Bill popped his head around the door to find Piper and Alex sitting on the edge of the bed going through papers.

"Oh, Hi.." He said, not expecting to find anyone other than Piper.

"Hi Mr Chapman, I'm Alex Vause. I live across the road and Piper is doing some work for me at the moment. I hope you don't mind, Piper had a headache so we have come to a more comfortable environment to go over some stuff."

Bill looked taken aback by how accommodating Alex was.

"No, no. No worries, carry on with whatever you are doing. Will you be staying for Dinner, Alex?"

Alex shook her head. "No thanks, Mr Chapman, I have to be getting home to sort some stuff out." She glanced at Piper who instantly knew she was talking about Emma.

XXXXXX

Later that day Emma had returned home from work to find Alex sitting mulling over some Paperwork with a glass of red wine.

Piper had been keeping a close eye on Alex's house throughout the night, she was feeling incredibly anxious. She could see Alex sitting at the table with some wine and she saw Emma enter the house, her stomach knotted.

Emma walked in and placed her car keys down on the kitchen bench. "Hey babe, should we get takeout for dinner?" she said casually as she swung open the fridge and peered inside.

Alex tapped the papers on the table, laid them to the side, breathed in and then placed her glasses on top of her head. "I think we need to talk, can you come and sit down?"

Emma stopped what she was doing and joined Alex at the table.

"I don't think we are working out..."

Emma's face turned from amused to, upon realising Alex wasn't joking around, completely horrified.

"Is it because I'm always away with work? I can work around that if you need me to. I thought you were fine with it."

"It's not that, Emma. I just don't us going anywhere. I feel like you deserve better than this. I deserve better than this."

Emma blinked and then blinked again. "Is there someone else?" She asked frankly.

Alex looked away guiltily and rubbed her eyes. "Yes."

Emma stood up, slapped Alex around the face, threw the wine in her face and then headed upstairs. Alex could hear her slamming drawers and knew she was gathering what little amount of stuff she had at the house. After ten minutes of Alex still sitting at the table, her cheek smarting and her hair wet and sticky from the wine, Emma emerged again. Flung her key on the table and stormed out.

Once the car was down the road Alex stood up from the table and burst into tears, she was just so mentally and emotionally exhausted from everything and now she was a day behind on her work.

Piper had been watching from her bedroom window, worried at what Emma would do. When she had seen Emma slap Alex around the face she was livid. As soon as the car pulled down the road she rushed over to Alex's place, hoping she wasn't overstepping the mark and invading Alex's space.

She found Alex crying with her head in her hands on the floor of the kitchen, a fresh glass of wine placed beside her.

"Al?"

Alex looked up and then away, wiping her face on the back of her sleeve and standing up, not facing Piper. She hated how weak she must look.

"I'm ok, I'm just really tired."

"I saw her slap you."

"It's nothing I didn't deserve, Pipes."

Piper pulled Alex to her into a hug. "Ugh, Al, your hair's all sticky. Why don't we take a shower or a bath?"

Alex looked up and smiled. "I guess that would be nice but I'm a day behind on work so I really need to get on with it. I haven't even had dinner."

Piper held up a large bowl with tinfoil over it. "Chicken stew - and when we're finished in the bath, we can eat it while we catch up with the work."

Alex looked taken aback. She hadn't had anyone other than Red take care of her like this in years. Piper gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, she placed the bowl on the kitchen bench as she walked to the bathroom to run a nice hot bubble bath. she really didn't want the pair to be distracted by both of them being in the bath together so she waited for Alex to join her in the bathroom and then ushered her into the bath by herself.

Piper watched as Alex undressed and stepped into the bath, not realising she was holding her breath as she watched Alex's naked form entering the water. Her skin was milky white and smooth. She had curves in all the right places and Piper closed her eyes for a moment as Alex sunk into the water, trying to calm herself down.

Once Alex was settled into the hot water, Piper instructed her to lean her head back and close her eyes. Piper picked up a jug and poured the warm water over Alex's long raven locks, watching it fan out over her shoulders as the water cascaded off it.

She picked up the shampoo bottle and lathered Alex's scalp, massaging it. She moaned. "mm. That's amazing, Pipes." Piper rinsed her hair off and then laid her back, placing some soap on her hands and running them down Alex's front. She wanted it to be sensual but not necessarily sexual. She just wanted Alex to be relaxed.  
After she had finished her massage she left Alex to relax for a while and wandered downstairs to heat the chicken stew up.

Alex appeared after 15 minutes looking relaxed and refreshed. Piper loved it when Alex was so casual. It was such a contrast to how she looked at work. She was in a tank top and slacks and her long dark hair was pulled up into a loose messy bun.

The girls each took a bowl of stew and sat down to complete the work.

"Piper, thank you for this."

Piper smiled. "It's ok Al, I figured you really needed a bit of time out before we hit this paperwork."

Alex leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Piper's mouth. "I appreciate it."

Alex could already feel herself falling for Piper. No one had made her feel like this before and no one had showed so much care towards her since Diane had died. She just hoped it would all work out and she wasn't going to get her heart broken.


	8. Chapter 8

**Guys, I'm going to be having my baby in about two weeks so I'm gonna do my best to have this story wrapped up by then. Anything you guys would like to see happen here before it gets closed off? As always, please review. Lise xx**

Piper was awoken by a loud shriek.

"Holy shit, this house is fucking amazing Pipe. I can understand why Carol and Bill wanted to move out here now."

Polly had opened the curtains and Piper squinted, wondering what was going on.

"Get up! Has boss man been putting you to work too hard?"

Piper sat upright thinking about her boss and the previous day.

"Jesus, why didn't you call me to say you were coming, Pol?" Piper rubbed her eyes and yawned. Polly was looking directly at Alex's house.

"Gosh have you seen the woman who lives over the road, Piper? She's like, smoking hot. hopefully boss man doesn't get a glimpse of her or it will all be over."

Piper shot out of bed and ran to the window. Alex was standing at the front with a hose pipe, watering her potted plants and doing general garden maintenance. She was wearing a tank top and a pair of really short shorts. Piper appreciated the view.

"Yep, hot. Um, so, what's the plans for today?" she dragged her eyes away from Alex's form.

"I thought we could go to the beach and then the movies?" Polly looked expectantly at Piper.

"Yeah, sure, I actually have to go into work for an hour but then i'm free. Can I invite someone to come with us?"

Polly squealed in excitement. "Oh my god, is it hot boss man? Of course you can, Pipes."

Piper rolled her eyes and went to get ready for the day.

XXXXXXX

Piper had thrown on some casual jean shorts and a white linen shirt over a tank top. When she got to Alex's she was on her knees in the garden round the back of the house weeding a flower bed. Piper couldn't resist it, she reached out and slapped Alex's ass making her squeal in surprise.

"Piper! Jesus! I didn't see you!" Alex said, looking flustered and already sweaty from the work she had been doing.

Piper giggled at the look on Alex's face. She also looked really hot, she had her hair up in a messy bun and her cheeks were flushed pink.

"My friend is visiting unexpectedly from town, I wondered if you wanted to come to the beach with us and then the movies? Plus, I told her i had to work for an hour because the view over here was just too tempting."

Alex smirked, standing and pulling Piper closer. "Tempting, huh?" Piper screwed up her face.

"Yeah, but, um, when was the last time you showered..."

Alex mocked insult. "Me? hmm. I guess you'll have to wash me yourself, that way you can get in all the bits I can't reach, right?"

Piper was stunned into silence for a moment before they both laughed and Alex pulled Piper into the house.

An hour and a half later, Piper and Alex had both redressed after a steamy session in the shower. Getting clean was becoming something of a theme for them but Alex had insisted shower sex wasn't her favourite thing to do.

"Oh, shit! I totally forgot about Polly!" Piper said, throwing her hands up in the air.

Alex laughed at how over dramatic Piper could be. "Ok, calm down, let's go and meet her."

XXXXXX

As Piper and Alex approached Polly, Piper could see her expression changing.

"Hey, Pipes... uh, i thought you were bringing boss man... not hot neighbour.."

Alex's eyebrows shot up and she smirked. Piper blushed.

"Uh, Polly, i'd like you to meet my uh, boss, Alex."

Polly's face was a picture. Her eyes went wide as the realisation sunk in. "Oh, I mean.. o-h... Uh, It's nice to meet you, Alex."

"Likewise, Molly."

Polly frowned. "It's Polly actually."

Alex chuckled. "Oops, sorry!"

The girls spent the majority of the day walking around the beach and eating ice cream until their movie was due to start at 6pm. It was starting to get dark and Piper was starting to get cold. Alex noticed.

"You ok, Pipes?"

"Yeah it's just getting chilly isn't it?"

Alex smiled. "Here, take this."

She took off her jacket and passed it to Piper who looked at her in awe. "You don't have to do that..."

Polly scoffed. "Jesus christ. Look, Pipes, I don't want to be funny but I feel like the third wheel so I'm just gonna go off and meet Pete..."

"I'm sorry Poll. Maybe we can catch up in a couple of weeks? call me, anyway." As much as Piper had enjoyed catching up with Polly she had been desperate to have more alone time with Alex. She wanted to know so much more about her.

After the movie she felt like she had been punched in the gut as they drove home, knowing she was going to have to spend the night without Alex.

Alex could sense there was something wrong and kept glancing at Piper. "Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to stay over tonight, you know, at my place? If it's too soon I totally get it, I just thought I would ask."

Piper's face lit up. "I would love to, I'll just have to tell my dad i'm staying at Polly's... I'm not sure how I would explain the fact I'm staying over at my boss's place..."

Alex chuckled. "Ok, do what you gotta do, girl."

Alex pulled into the driveway and gave Piper a moment to call her dad as she unloaded some groceries she had done a quick pit stop for on the way home.

Piper emerged five minutes later looking triumphant.

"I just have to not get caught being here for now, dad thinks I'm at Polly's."

Alex smiled and pulled Piper closer to her. "Do you like Baked potato?"

Piper laughed. "That was an unexpected question! But yes, I like baked potato. My mother has always said I'm weird because I'm very specific about my toppings. I like butter melted over it and a shit tonne of cheese, but it can't be melted. Then I like cucumber sliced over the top of it. Its surprisingly refreshing."

Alex's face was a picture as she listened to Piper. "You are weirder than I first thought, I think i'm gonna have to give you back." she laughed.

Piper slapped her on the arm playfully and they leaned in for a quick kiss.

"Were you just asking if I like baked potato because you were curious, or are you making that for dinner?" Piper asked.

Alex acted like she was thinking for a second. "I was just curious."

They both burst out laughing and Alex went to wash the potatoes. Piper decided to take the opportunity to have a proper look around the place. She looked at the photos on Alex's mantlepiece. An older lady with very dark auburn hair stood beside Alex in one of the photos, they were smiling and had their arms around eachother. Piper immediately knew it was Alex's mother. She looked so much like her it was hard to think otherwise. Piper wondered why Alex's hair was black when her mother had red hair.

"Hey Al, Is this your mom in the photo?" Piper called from the lounge.

"Yup."

"How come she's got auburn hair and yours is black?"

Alex popped around the wall seperating the kitchen from the lounge room, wiping her hands on an apron around her waist, a knife in one hand.

"What makes you think my hair is naturally black?" Alex asked.

Piper was quite taken aback. She hadn't pictured Alex with any other hair colour.

"I mean, I just assumed it was, I guess."

Alex laughed. "I dyed it when I was 15. My hair is red. Lighter than my mom's. I have a photo somewhere back there, I'll show you."

Alex rummaged through a cupboard beside the fireplace. "Here."

She held out a photo of a very young, fresh faced version of herself, sure enough, she had red hair.

Piper took the photo from Alex, smiling to herself as she looked at Alex as a kid. "Aww, you were so cute!"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I was real popular at school. Little poor ginger kid. Always a hit."

Piper giggled but she felt sad that Alex's childhood had been so different from her own.


	9. Chapter 9

Piper had spent the next two days at Alex's, They had both been holed up, working, love making and telling stories from each others childhoods.

"Do you think I'll ever go home?" Piper asked teasingly to Alex.

Alex crawled across the bed towards Piper on her knees. "God, I fucking hope not." She husked into her ear as she towered above her, effectively dominating the blonde.

She began kissing Piper but they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Alex stopped and frowned, she wasn't expecting anyone to visit.

Piper stayed in the bedroom as Alex walked to answer the door. - Bill was standing there anxiously tapping his foot. Alex took a deep breath in as she approached him.

"Hey, Bill. What can I do for you?"

Bill cleared his throat. "Hi Alex, I'm here on business actually. I was wondering if you would be able to give me some advice on my finances since they've recently changed."

Alex knew this wasn't the best time to be inviting Bill into her home but felt she had no choice. She just hoped Piper would stay in the bedroom or they would both have some serious explaining to do.

She sat Bill down at the table. "Look, I'm actually really stowed under at the moment, Bill, but we can have a quick chat to determine the level of help you're looking for and then I'll have Piper schedule in an appointment."

"Well actually, myself and Carol were thinking of buying a tour bus and heading off for a couple of years travelling, my promotion at work gives me more freedom, i can work remotely and we have had a decent payrise. I've been promising Carol we would do this since college but then she got pregnant and we had the kids to think about. I wanted to sign the house over to Piper so if anything happens to us, the house belongs to her. I just wanted to know where I stand financially buying a tour bus and if you would be able to sort out the legal paperwork for the house."

Alex stared at him, her mouth hanging open slightly. She knew Piper would be able to hear all of this but didn't know what she would be thinking in regards to it. "Uh, Yeah, sure Bill. I can definitely look into that for you. Do you have any tour bus prices for me and I'll need your salary per week so we can work out the payments. Also any other payments you have such as the mortgage for the house or the car.."

"It's all in the folder I've brought over." Bill said, tapping his hand on a leather bound folder he had placed on the table when he had sat down.

"Alex, do you have half an hour to go through it with me now? I just want to get an idea if I can afford it or not so I can tell Carol."

Alex glanced over at the bedroom praying to god Piper didn't come out anytime soon.

"Sure, I guess we can take a quick look, but to do anything in depth you are going to have to make an appointment." Alex said, picking up the folder and starting to look at the sheets of expenses.

"So you have Piper's car, The family car, the mortgage and general household bills. Do you have the list of tour bus options you have looked at?"

Bill reached over and pulled a sheet of paper from the back of the file. Alex's eyes widened. "Wow, these are pretty luxurious buses, Bill." She rubbed her forehead with her hand.

"I think, I mean, it could be manageable at a push? You aren't going to have a great deal of money left over after these expenses though.."

Bill shifted uncomfortably. "I was hoping that while we were away, Piper would be able to pick up some of the mortgage and her car payment. At least half of the mortgage."

Alex's eyes widened. "Ok, but shouldn't you talk to Piper about this first, I mean, assuming you haven't already." Alex said, backtracking on herself.

"Sure, I just wanted to start the ball rolling. I'll talk to Piper and then I'll arrange a meeting if it's something she agrees on." Bill said sighing.

He stood up and put his hand on the folder. "I'll leave the file with you, Alex. Sorry for intruding on your day."

"It's not a problem. Come by anytime." Alex smiled.

Bill awkwardly smiled back and headed out the door. Piper appeared from behind the door frame wearing one of Alex's oversized t shirts. It came down to mid thigh. Alex walked over to her not really knowing what to do and pulled her into a hug. "I guess you heard that, huh?"

Piper nodded silently against Alex's shoulder, inhaling the scent of her hair.

Little did they know, Bill was standing in the doorway watching the whole thing. He had come back to tell Alex he had forgotten to put a personal loan on the list of expendatures.

Backing away from the door, he walked home in complete and utter shock.

 **Thanks for the reviews! To the reviewer who asked if I'm going to finish hidden... yep! I am, I'm just having a writers block with it at the moment. Once I figure it out I'll finish it. As always, please review! - Lise xx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, I still have a baby in my belly. so frustrating. today is my due date and I am so excited that we have a release date for season 6 now! yay!**

Piper returned home that evening to silence.

"Mom? Dad?" She walked around the house until she found her dad sitting at the kitchen table looking sorry for himself, a whiskey sitting infront of him.

"Dad?" Bill looked up from his drink.

"Did you have a good time at Polly's?"

"Yeah, you know what she's like, never shuts up. I'll be glad to have a bit of peace for a couple of days."

"And how was Alex?"

"Alex?" Piper questioned immediately.

"Yes, you saw Alex didn't you?"

"Oh, um, Yeah, briefly, I just bumped into her, she was on business and I spoke to her briefly about work."

Bill cleared his throat, his voice suddenly raised. "DID I RAISE YOU TO LIE TO ME, PIPER?"

Piper jumped, her eyes widening.

"I-I'm not lying?" She stuttered back. Carol came into the room.

"What on earth is going on here? Why are you shouting, Bill?"

"Piper here has been lying about her whereabouts all week, Carol. I've had it up to here with her attitude. We give her everything and she is getting further and further behind in life. Look at Polly, she has a degree, a boyfriend... Piper here has a dead end job and is having it away with her boss. Oh, who just so happens to be female!"

Carol gasped and Piper went beet red.

"Bill, what on earth are you talking about? Piper isn't of those. I mean, she has long hair and likes chick flicks. She's not going around with a shaved head and one earring. I think you have the wrong end of the stick."

"Well, I don't and i think now might be a great time for us to take that trip in the tour bus and give this girl a bit of responsibility. I think it would teach her a lesson. But you knew all about it though, Piper, didn't you? Because you were already at Alex's house when I was discussing it all."

Piper flared her nose. "Mother, how can you be so offensive? I don't go by a title, for the record and not all lesbians have one earring and short hair. I don't know how you can be so judgemental? Yes, Dad, i heard your discussion with Alex because yes, we are together, if anything it helps our work because we work so well together. I wish you hadn't found out this way but that's just how it is. I love her."

Piper stopped talking at her own admission, she didn't know where that had come from but she had known it for a while. She loved Alex. She wanted to be with Alex.

"You sound ridiculous, this is obviously a phase. You could come on the tour bus with us." Carol said, and Bill raised his eyebrows, obviously not impressed at her invitation.

"I don't want to come on the tour bus with you guys, I have my life here now! I'm with Alex whether you guys like it or not. I'm an adult now. You can go on your tour bus, I'm staying here."

A voice entered the house from the other side of the room. Alex had come to give Bill some information on tour bus options when she had heard the argument, she had also heard Piper's admission to her parents and was shocked that Piper had been so open about her feelings.

"Sorry, If i could have a moment to give my opinion? I know i'm not going to be popular at the moment and obviously this has all come as a huge shock but I also love your daughter."

Alex side eyed Piper whose mouth was hanging open.

"And I would like if you could potentially give us a chance. I don't think two people should be penalised by who they fall in love with. If you don't want to sign the house over to Piper, sign it to one of your son's and Piper has the option to come and stay with me for the duration of your leave if that's something she wishes."

Piper's mouth hung open. "Uh, Yeah, I'd love to Al."

Bill and Carol's faces were a picture. "Um, well, Alex, I'd like if you could give us some time alone so we can finish this discussion as a family."

Alex nodded and Piper stepped towards her. "No, Dad. You can say what you have to say infront of Alex. She's the one who is sorting everything out for you guys anyway and I don't have any secrets from her. If she will have me, I would like to go and stay with her while you are both away. Work will be easier and obviously I want to be there as much as possible."

Piper looked to Alex who was smirking a little bit at the speech.

Carol looked at Bill who looked conflicted. "Well, I guess Danny would want to take over the payments. You of course have to take care of your car payments, Piper."

Bill turned to Carol who was standing with her mouth open, a shocked expression on her face. "Look, Carol, we've wanted to do the tour bus thing since we were young, the kids are grown up now, I'm sick of babying them, it's our time now, let's just put everything in the past and focus on us, the kids will be fine."

Piper knew her father was talking about his multiple affairs and bad attitude.

Alex and Piper slipped out of the house together, walking back to Alex's house in silence and then both turning to each other.

"Do you want to come and stay with me while your parents are away? If it doesn't work out you can go home and if it goes well, well, maybe you could consider moving in?"

Piper looked up, her eyes widening. "moving in?"

Alex's shoulders slumped. "I get it, If it's too soon it's ok. I just think we work really well together, Pipes."

Piper jumped at Alex and embraced her tightly. "Of course I'd love to!"

Spinning her around, Alex walked her backward to the foot of the stairs.

"How about we go break in our bed then?"

Piper giggled into her shoulder. "I think it's the only logical next step."


End file.
